United States surpasses Australia, Qatar to become the largest exporter of LNG

Washington: – Even though the ‘Energy Crisis’ unfolding at the international level, the United States has emerged as the largest exporter of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). The United States has surpassed Australia and Qatar, the leaders in LNG exports. In 2018, the United States also became the highest producer of crude oil.

The United States exported a whopping 7.7 million tonnes of LNG in December. The main reason for this increase is the rising demand from Europe, China, and other Asian countries. Since the last few months, tension has reigned between Europe and Russia over the Ukraine issue. It is believed that Russia has reduced LNG supply to the European countries. The United States has benefited the most from this and it has been revealed that the European countries have imported record quantities of LNG from the United States.

In the Asian continent, Australian LNG exports have taken a major hit given the trade war started by China against it. At the same time, China has greatly increased fuel imports from Russia and the United States to tide over the electricity shortage. This also has benefited US companies, and LNG export to China has increased.

The United States exported the LNG for the first time in 2016. After that, in just five years, the United States has become the largest exporter of LNG in the world. The main reasons for this are the revolution caused by the Shale Gas technology and the investment of billions of dollars in the LNG sector. Analysts claimed that given the increasing investment in the LNG sector, the United States would maintain its leadership status in the LNG exports.